Climate action in practice
Charcoal Briquettes from Waste
We started making charcoal briquettes from the waste around us — turning what others discard into a clean, renewable energy source that protects Uganda's forests and generates income for the children in our care.
Why we started
Trees in Uganda are disappearing fast. Communities cut them down for firewood and charcoal because it is the only affordable fuel they know. We asked ourselves: what if we could give people a better option, made from the waste already around them?
That question became our charcoal briquette programme. We collect agricultural waste — dried leaves, crop residues, paper, and organic scraps — and press them into dense, long-burning briquettes that produce the same heat as wood charcoal without cutting a single tree.
Watch us at work
See the full briquette-making process — from collecting waste to pressing and drying — in our own words and hands.
How we make them
Collect waste
We gather agricultural residues, dried leaves, paper, and organic waste from the community and the shelter grounds — material that would otherwise be burned or dumped.
Carbonise
The waste is carbonised in a low-oxygen environment to produce a fine charcoal powder, removing moisture and concentrating the energy stored in the material.
Mix and bind
The charcoal powder is mixed with a natural cassava-starch binder and water to form a thick, workable paste that holds its shape under pressure.
Press into briquettes
The paste is loaded into our manual press and compressed into uniform cylindrical briquettes. Each press produces a batch ready for drying.
Sun-dry
Briquettes are laid out in the sun for one to two days until fully hardened. Once dry, they are dense, clean-burning, and ready to use or sell.
A triple impact
Forests protected
Every briquette sold is a tree that stays standing. We reduce the community's dependence on wood fuel and slow the encroachment on Uganda's forests.
Renewable energy
Briquettes burn longer and cleaner than raw firewood, producing less smoke and saving families money on fuel — a practical, affordable alternative.
Children supported
Revenue from briquette sales goes directly to the Kalule Bwaise Children Shelter, funding meals, education, and care for the 18 children in our programme.
We train the community
Making briquettes is a skill anyone can learn. We run hands-on training sessions open to community members, teaching the full process from waste collection to pressing and drying.
Our goal is not just to make briquettes ourselves — it is to spread the knowledge so that every household in Buwambo and Kalule Bwaise can reduce their own impact on the forest. When the community owns the skill, the forest wins.
Support this work
Your donation helps us buy materials, maintain our press, and run community training sessions. Every contribution keeps more trees standing and more children fed.